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From The Editor

An Interview with Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Debbie
Wasserman Schultz is a U.S.
congresswoman from Florida. She has
long been an advocate for the rights
of women, seniors, and children. In
2009, she increased efforts to
promote early screening for breast
cancer after revealing her own
battle with the disease in 2008. The
bill passed as part of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act
in March 2010.

Gary Barg:
What can you tell us about the Early
Act?

Debbie
Wasserman Schultz: The EARLY
Act, called the Education and
Awareness Requires Learning Young
Act, is legislation that I
introduced when I was researching a
way that I could help use my own
story to really advance the fight
against breast cancer. And what I
found was that the biggest gap that
exists right now is what young women
face when they are diagnosed with
breast cancer because mostly the
focus of breast cancer education is
on women who are 40 and over. So the
EARLY Act will create an education
and awareness campaign targeted at
women under 45 years old that will
help them understand how to focus on
their breast health so that they can
minimize their risks and make it
more likely if they are diagnosed
with breast cancer, it is detected
early...read more

Finding stillness within is a
perpetual challenge for caregivers and for their
loved ones. Programs often focus on the
individual with the health challenge; and while
there are resources available for caregivers, it is
special to find one that welcomes both caregiver and
patient or loved one...read more

Guest Column

Family Caregiving: Sharing the Work

By Rita L. Calderon

I am my brother’s keeper…...To
love, comfort, honor in sickness and in health...

How we took these words for
granted. Yet it was hard to visualize that
bright-eyed, young beauty in front of us as old and
sick. And easier to be our brother’s keeper when
we lived in extended families in a less transient nation...read more

Caretips

Working Out and Having a Ball
By J B Buckley

Remember when you were a
child and running around the playground, swimming in
the community pool, or building a sand castle was
fun? Little did you know you were not only having
fun, but getting a workout too. With all the
challenges we face on a daily basis; caring for our
loved-ones, working and cleaning, imagine putting
more fun back into your life through exercise...read
more

Carenotes

My husband has frontal temporal
dementia. I am so thankful to have a support group.
Recently, I placed my husband in a rehab facility, hoping to
qualify for a program for assisted living through Medicaid.
They discharged him on the fourth day because he didn't need
enough help. I told them he needed help with everything,
meaning eating, bathing, toileting, meds, dressing, etc.
How did they not know? They knew he had dementia and had a
very recent form from the PCP that spelled it out.

I am having a terrible time getting a
partial refund for the remainder of the week and his
medication, including three pills that should not even be
on the list! They excluded the Plavix he takes so his
cardiac stents won't get clogged. That drug is so
important, his cardiologist has him stay on it even through
a tooth extraction.

You live and learn. Someone should write
a "book" on the secrets to nursing home care. It seems
anything can and does happen. There must be good
advice to share with all of us who are stuck in the
situation of eventually needing nursing home placement.
Or maybe we need a book on how to keep the loved one at home
without breaking the bank. It is becoming very
difficult.